Wuyi Da Hong Pao/Story
Fondness Story I. In the Mountains All across the mountains and plains were crimson leaves that dyed the entire mountain red. The gentle wind carried a wavering mass of clouds. The life of an idle hermit will be constantly disturbed by a few incidents here and there. The children who’d darted down the mountain, cheering, ran into my little house, all familiar and adept. Hunters and herb pickers, these are the people that I most often encounter, deep in the mountains. This was mountain was different from those that surrounded us. On this peak, Fallen Angels were practically extinct because of Longjing Tea and I. The humans had grown used to looking for medicinal herbs and hunting prey too. I took the goods from the herbalist’s hands and thanked him. “Mister, these are the seasonings you wanted, and some necessities.” “Thank you all.” Though a long life in the deep mountains is quite satisfying, stocking up on materials is something of an inevitable chore. That’s why he’d request the herbalists and hunters who frequented here to help him by bringing a few needed supplies. “Mister, mister! Why don’t you come live in our village?! That way, you can tell us stories every day!” “Yeah! Mister, don’t you have a place to stay? Mister can live at my house!” “Ah! Rude! I want mister to live at my house too!” “Live at my house first!” “Live at my house!” The children’s exclamations made me feel somewhat sheepish, so I bent a finger and gave each of those noisy little brats’ forehead a poke. “No more nagging the mister, all of you be good and sit tight, I’m going to gather some herbs! I’ll come pick you all up by nightfall!” “’Kay——“ The sunlight gradually faded into a faint orange-red colour. After playing for quite some time, the energetic and bouncy children, yawned one after another, snuggling against one another as they dozed off. When I finished wrapping them up with blankets from the house, I stared at their rosy red, sleeping faces, zoning out. Suddenly, I felt my clothes being lightly pulled at. Upon turning my head around, a tiny scarlet fox lifted its head, gazing at me with shiny, dewy eyes. When it saw that I took a few steps towards it after being noticed, it shifted its head to get a better look at me. Its shaggy tail swayed lightly; it looks like it wants me to follow it. I followed it to the front, not too far. A small fox was curled up among the grass, trembling. Its leg had a particularly serious wound. I picked it up and brought it back to my little home for treatment. The herbal medicine, used for stopping bleeding, was mashed inside the mortar to extract its juice. I then carefully applied the medicine to the wound, and then bandaged it with clean gauze. The sickly little fox lifted its head, and used the warm tip of its tongue to affectionately lick at my palm, emitting whimpers that implied its feelings of being mishandled. I held onto the soft little fox, smoothing out his sleek and fluffy long tail as I sat beneath the eaves of my house, admiring the beautiful view of the setting sun, the languid fragrance of tea lingering by my side. It seemed that this life would never change. I, too, hoped it never changed. II. Leaving the Mountain The color of the sky gradually darkened. Before the last ray of sunlight was blotted out by the clouds, the herbalist and hunter returned to the front of my little home, rousing their children from sleep. After waving the children goodbye, I turned back to see the sitting man, who’d just quietly entered through the back door, looking very much at home. “Longjing, I shall pour you some tea.” I thrust the soft little fox into Longjing’s arms. Longjing was obviously not used to being in such close contact with small animals. He was baffled on what to do as he looked at the little fox on his lap. I had turned my back on him, and I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. I have known Xi Hu Longjing for a long time. Before that little lakeside terrace was even built, I already knew of a man who liked to hide under a lake, quietly observing humans from all walks of life. There is no god in this world, but humans created gods for their prayers. And he was among the people’s hopes, the Dragon God that sheltered them from wind and rain. The little fox had grown used to his smell and gently rubbed against his palm. Xi Hu Longjing’s ever so cold expression softened quite a bit at this. “Cute, right?” I then put down the tray in my hands, pushing the still steaming hot tea towards Longjing. It’s only then that he removes his hands from the little fox, drily coughing. “Alright, talk. Why’d you suddenly come here to an idler?” “Da Hong Pao, I need you to accompany me down the mountain for a trip.” “Ah?” “Another epidemic has appeared. Even though the current situation has been stabilized by Realgar Wine, I still hope you could accompany me to have a look together. He’s busy and cannot come.” I agreed, without saying much else, and went to quickly pack my medicine case. Then, with Longjing, I departed from the mountain I hadn’t left in so long. III. Little House In a certain Light Kingdom village, there is a lake like mirror glass; besides the lake was a small house built god knows when. The legendary Dragon God—Xi Hu Longjing— lives there. At first, it was only him, and in those times, he much preferred living in his own little world beneath the lake, where only he could enter. But the people who worshipped him became more and more; aside from the Dragon God statue that’d always been there, there was also a courtyard, almost like a flower garden. Everyone knew that their ‘Lord Dragon God’ lives in this courtyard. From the beginning, there was Zitui Bun, and then came Dragon Beard Candy, Dragon & Phoenix Stew, with Realgar Wine being the most recent arrival. When they returned to the house, the little courtyard was filled with the smell of medicinal herbs. Realgar Wine was so busy that his head was dripping with sweat, Dragon & Phoenix was right behind him, holding a medicine case. Dragon Beard Candy had rolled her sleeves up as she, too, helped patients wipe away the cold sweat from their foreheads, changing their cloths to a cold one. Upon seeing that patients were still lining up in the courtyard, I brought out my own medicine case and joined in to treat Realgar Wine’s line of patients. Under Realgar Wine and I’s efforts, every patient has been properly settled down. I wiped away the perspiration on my forehead as I let out a sigh of relief. “Recently, epidemics have spread to more and more places.” “Sir, if you’re worried about the people’s safety, why not stay with us for the time being?” I shook my head. Everything that happened before, I did not want to experience it again, nor did I want them to go through it either. But seeing their great efforts, I could not find it in me to say what I wanted to say. They liked humans that much, believing in the goodness of humans, and helping them with heartfelt sincerity. Longjing could see my hesitation, so he had Realgar Wine and the others go busy themselves with other things, then lifted his hand to pat my shoulder, a small comfort. “Don’t overthink it.” Feeling the warmth from his palm, I stifled the feeling of unease within me, loudly exhaling. Translator’s Note: The phrase the originally used literally meant vomiting out muddy air which… does not make any sense, so loudly exhaling seems to be the closest equivalent. Night came, and the silhouette of the willow tree became partly shrouded in the dark, its delicate, long branches lightly dancing along in the wind. The small lakeside village gradually lit up with the warm lights of the houses. I sat by the house’s window. The light breeze carried the scent of medicinal herbs being ground by the house members; following the sound of footsteps, a tray was placed on the tea table. I turned around and saw Zitui Bun lifting his sleeves as he held up the teapot to pour tea. In the chilly weather, white mist leisurely rose from the white porcelain tea bowl. “What are you worried about?” The hand I used to hold the tea cup froze, and I smiled bitterly at Zitui Bun. “Was my face that obvious?” “Longjing is very worried about you.” Zitui Bun smiled faintly as he pointed outside the window, where Longjing was, standing beside the lake as he gazed at the lake surface, zoning out. “……” “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell. Ah, that’s right, I still have to thank you.” “Ah? Thank me?” “Thank you so much for giving Longjing the medicine back then.” “So the person Longjing was urgently trying to save was you, huh?” “No matter how you see it, thank you sir, for saving my life.” “You’re welcome.” The sudden commotion outside the window took our attention, and we poked our heads out to look where it came from. Upon seeing what was before our eyes, we couldn’t help but laugh. A drunken Dragon & Phoenix was hugging Longjing’s shoulders while holding up his wine glass, contentedly reciting a verse that was neither in-tune nor rhyming. Longjing was smothered in the smell of alcohol as he kept on trying to escape, but ultimately, he couldn’t avoid Dragon & Phoenix’s enthusiasm as he downed several cups of wine. Watching the little ripples of joy from this peaceful point outside the window, the rising unease within me seemed to have also been swept away by their laughter. IV. Unfortunate Event After solving the village’s problem, I once more returned to my little home. Life in the mountains isn’t as boring as most people imagine it to be. The herbalist and hunter would often bring their children over for me to tell them stories. Occasionally, there’d also be those who’d traveled from distant lands to seek medical treatment from me, humbly begging for their lives. The small animals of the mountain would also come to find me from time to time, the little fox that I saved before would even bring sweet wild mountain fruits to me. This kind of quiet life is what I like. But my friends getting hurt is something I don’t wish to see. That day, the hunter hurriedly carried Zitui Bun up the mountain. Zitui Bun, unconscious and comatose, had snow white robes drenched red with blood. His eyebrows were furrowed tightly, as if he were trapped in a nightmare. “Mister! He fainted at the foot of the mountain, he kept calling for your name, so I delivered him here! I heard something has happened at Sir Dragon God’s home!” I wrapped his wounds in a mad rush. Zitui Bun, awakening from his nightmare, suddenly sat up, not caring about his split wound as he grabbed onto my hand. “Mister! Hurry and save Longjing and the others!” After settling Zitui Bun down at my home, I quickly followed the hunter under the moon as we headed to the courtyard. At the courtyard, I saw a few faces that I’d never seen before. A man with a monocle was standing outside the door, his brows tightly creased. Upon seeing my arrival, they seemed somewhat surprised. “You are?” “I’m a friend of Longjing and the others, a medic. Zitui Bun asked for my help, what happened to them?” “They fell prey to those people’s traps. By the time I rushed over, I only made it in time to save them. It must’ve been around that time that Zitui Bun left to get your help- is he okay?” “He’s fine!” The man clenched the tobacco pipe in his hand. His clothes were stained with soot; there wasn’t enough time to treat the scars on his face. “Enough chit chat, go help Plum Juice already. Their injuries are serious.” Pushing open the door, the pungent smell of medicinal herbs, mixed with the scent of blood, filled the room. Longjing and Dragon & Phoenix had already woken up, it was just that their injuries didn’t allow them to sit up. “You must be the Da Hong Pao that they mentioned! Quickly, come help me take a look! The bleeding won’t stop!” I drew closer to look at Realgar Wine, the wound that had penetrated through the side of his waist was particularly bad. Even a Food Soul with extraordinary healing abilities could not easily fix it. It was only after the sun rose that Realgar Wine’s condition stabilized. Plum Juice and I sat on the ground, panting; Yuxiang stood beside them, helping us wipe away beads of sweat from our temples. On the side, Dragon & Phoenix struggled to get down from bed. He held onto his own wound as he looked at Realgar Wine. “He’s okay, right!?” “He’s fine, all we need to do now is use our Soul Power to help them heal as fast as possible.” I looked at Realgar Wine’s sickly pale face, then hesitantly glanced over to Dragon & Phoenix and Longjing Tea. From what I knew, as long as they were around, they would never allow anyone to hurt their companions at the courtyard. “He… It’s so he could save me.” On the side, Longjing tightly clenched his fist, and harsh lines formed between his furrowed brows. These small movements upset his wounds, causing him to cough up blood. I promptly helped him lay onto the soft cushion behind him. Fortunately, since everyone is a Food Soul, the injuries on their body will gradually heal as long as it is monitored. During this time interval, I stayed at the courtyard. It was also during this time that I and that monocle wearing fellow named Peking Duck got to know each other. It seems that this uncannily smart fellow figured out my identity. That day, his expression was sober. “Da Hong Pao, I know it may be because of what happened in the past that makes you so unwilling to intervene in this world’s present." Translator’s Note: Originally it said past but present is so much more poetic and thematically appropriate so yeah “……” “But right now, those who exist like we do, they have already meddled with the balance of this world. Can you, together with us, help this world? Like how you used to help him.” V. Wuyi Dahongpao A graceful young man, these were the first words that would come to anyone who saw this young prodigy. Draped in a red robe, the scarlet flower only champions could have was pinned to his chest. His smile was spirited and energetic, and by his side was a Food Soul, dressed in the same red outfit. That day, the entire imperial city drummed to the high heavens for him. Countless crimson paper flowers were thrown, celebrating the champion’s sudden appearance. He was handsome and talented, possessed extraordinary knowledge, incredibly skilled in martial arts, had great courage, and even knew a bit of medicine. No one knew where he came from, he was almost like a gift from the heavens. The young lad was exquisite, undaunted by the dangers and hardships of the world, unafraid of any form of evil. Translator's Note: 魑魅魍魉 monsters and demons and the likes; it also means bad guys and generally all the evil stuff. He was the hero of everyone’s heart, the dream partner for every girl. One of his admirers included her Royal Majesty, the princess from the high court, reigning above ten thousand people. The boy and girl encountered one another in the back courtyard, during a banquet. The young boy, who had just become an official, disliked bustling loud parties and drunken atmospheres, nor the cutthroat power struggles between ministers. He found an excuse to slip out into the backyard. Similarly, the young girl, who disliked maintaining her dignified royal demeanor, came to the backyard for air as well. During their encounter, the long dissipated flush of intoxication abruptly gathered on their cheeks again. The young boy, whose clever tongue earned endless praise from harsh old civil ministers, was suddenly speechless. Her Royal Majesty, the princess, who’d stayed calm and collected in front of all of her suitors, suddenly lost her gentle and refined composure. The boy and girl’s meeting was like a beautiful scene in a scroll painting; gentle wind picked up a sky full of red leaves, creating ten miles of make up for them. Translator's Note: 十里红妆 [ “Red Dowry”; this is a tradition of the east Zhejiang province where daughters are married off with a large dowry to show off the wealth of her family. The bride would be sent in a grand wedding procession to her husband’s home, carried in a carriage and followed by attendants and gifts. The procession could be quite long, which is why it’s also called the “Ten Mile Red Dowry”] The bride, draped in wedding regalia; the groom, dressed in finery, and atop a well-groomed horse. A heaven made match like that was, of course, blessed. Every time he fastened the red flower on his Master Attendant’s chest, Da Hong Pao would smile like how he used to. The elegant young boy of the past became a reliable young man of the present. He scratched the back of his head, smiling bashfully. The girl became a mother, and the exhausted young man cradled his child, still undecided on a name. The battle report from the front lines was like a douse of freezing cold water. The intelligent young man was skilled and proficient in martial arts, but he was also familiar with strategy. Out of everyone else, he was the one most suited for expeditions. “Da Hong Pao, you’ll have to look after him in my place. He’s always pre-occupied, if it’s in front of fellow soldiers … he’s forgetful and scatter brained… how embarrassing.” The girl with the child in her arms smiled warmly, eyes filled with shining tears, and her voice cracked at the end of her words. She knew better than anyone else that if her husband did not go, they would not just lose their time together. War rarely happens like how it does in books and novels, if ever. Countless flesh and blood is lost to no avail, and a hero’s emergence is bound to step on innumerable white bones. Schemes, power, money. In this era, these are no longer markers of a side’s victory or defeat. Though powerful Food Soul have the appearance of humans, they have abilities humans cannot match up to. It is only when both sides are equivalent in strength that you can call it a war. When one side possesses absolute power, that can only be called a massacre. In desperation, everyone turned to Da Hong Pao, who had always quietly followed the young man. The blood of humans stained his scarlet clothes, it was an even deeper crimson than his red robes, soaking all the way through Da Hong Pao’s garments. 　　 This liquid, turning black upon drying, will always have an irremovable odor. Beneath the moonlight, the young man stood outside the military tent, looking at the visibly distressed Da Hong Pao. The Food Soul was staring at his two hands, fists balled up so tightly that they were white. But fortunately, it was with his help that situation was no longer so dire. The enemy nation feared a huge loss of military power, and both sides came to the front lines to reach an agreement not to use non-human forces. It’s just that neither side was willing to let the Food Soul completely leave the battlefield. The weather became hotter, and with that, came diseases and epidemics that ravaged the entire imperial capital. The news of an epidemic spread across the nation, and upon hearing them, everyone thought of the medicine god’s Food Soul, who was also his disciple, Da Hong Pao. After the medicine god passed away, Wu Yi Da Hong Pao accompanied his only heir into the world that they long looked forward to. It was just that the medicine god’s heir enjoyed reading and learning martial arts, but no matter what, couldn’t get into medicine. And so, the medicine god could only pass on his revitalizing medical skills to Wu Yi Da Hong Pao. Enemies appeared one after another at the battlefront. The coveted Food Soul still did not leave, making the young man hesitant. Their discretionary decision that initially cleared up the situation gradually, returned to the haze from before. –No one wanted to experience the hopeless despair of facing a Food Soul again. When the dust settled, both sides pledged to not use Soul Power again, as they’d all lost too much from this war. The young man could finally return home and hold his wife and child, but he received news that was like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky. That girl, brightly smiling, and that child, who hadn’t even opened their eyes before he left home- both died in the epidemic that consumed the entire nation. Having felt what it’s feels to have a knife twisted in your heart, the young man kneeled before his wife and child’s graves. “Grandpa always told me not to go out into the world. The world brings countless sufferings, and the human heart will forever be vicious. But at the time, we had no way to understand. We kept wondering, kept wanting to see the world…” “……” “To understand now… is it too late… I promised grandpa I wouldn’t let Da Hong Pao do anything against his will. But even though I broke this oath, letting my brother’s hands be drenched in blood, I still could not save those I loved most…” Wu Yi Da Hong Pao knew that the young man constantly blamed himself for making Da Hong Pao stain everything with blood. The once high-spirited young boy became white-haired overnight. That day, the princess’s mansion ignited in a huge fire that burned through the whole capital city. The color of the red flames was even sharper than that of the battlefield blaze. The young man stood in the middle of the fire, recalling that day when he rode his horse through the streets; that face, obscured by beaded curtains, sitting at the high court, turning his vision rose red. “Wu Yi Da Hong Pao, leave this place. Go live the life that you want… and another thing… I’m sorry… Had we never left, it would’ve all been so much better.” Translator's Notes Category:Food Soul Story